EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs
Customs Act 1901
Customs Amendment (International Airport Definition) Regulations 2026
Legislative authority
The Customs Act 1901 (the Customs Act) concerns customs-related functions and is the legislative authority that sets out the customs requirements for the importation, and exportation, of goods to and from Australia.
Subsection 270(1) of the Customs Act, provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Customs Act, prescribing all matters which by the Customs Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to the Customs Act.
Purpose and background
The purpose of the Customs Amendment (International Airport Definition) Regulations 2026 (the Amendment Regulations) is to amend the Customs Regulation 2015 (the Regulation) to insert “Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport” (WSI Airport) into the definition of “international airport” in section 4 of the Regulation.
With cargo operations set to commence in July 2026, ahead of passenger flights commencing in September 2026, WSI Airport will become Australia’s fourth busiest airport when running at full capacity. It will provide essential additional capacity to meet forecast growth in international travel and trade in the Sydney basin.
Subsection 28(1) of the Customs Act provides that the regulations may prescribe the days on which, and hours on those days between which, officers are to be available to perform a specified function in every State or Territory, in a specified State or Territory or otherwise in a specified State or Territory. “Officer” in this context means “officer of Customs”, defined in section 4 of the Customs Act.
Section 12 of the Customs Regulation prescribes that, for subsection 28(1) of the Customs Act, officers are to be available to perform a function mentioned in an item in the table in subsection 12(1), in the State or Territory, on the day, and during the hours, mentioned in the item. The relevant functions are boarding or clearing aircraft, and attendance for the examination of aircraft passengers’ baggage respectively.
Including WSI Airport in the definition of “international airport” in section 4 of the Customs Regulation will therefore impose a requirement that officers of Customs be available to perform the functions and exercise the powers mentioned in items 2 and 3 of the table in subsection 12(1) at WSI Airport.
Consultation
The amendments contained in the Amendment Regulations apply in relation to officers of Customs to ensure they are available to perform specified border functions at an international airport, in this case being WSI Airport. As these apply to officers of Customs, no external consultation was undertaken.
The Australian Border Force regularly assesses the functions it provides at borders to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the Department and are fit for purpose.
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts was consulted in relation to naming conventions to ensure consistency and confirm alignment with other airport designation instruments.
Other matters
Details of the Amendment Regulations are set out in Attachment A. The Amendment Regulations commence on 1 July 2026.
The Amendment Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights (the Statement) has been completed in accordance with the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. The Statement concludes the Amendment Regulations are compatible with human rights. A copy of the Statement is at Attachment B.
ATTACHMENT A
Details of the Customs Amendment (International Airport Definition) Regulations 2026
Item 1 – Name
This section provides that the title of the Regulations is the Customs Amendment (International Airport Definition) Regulations 2026 (Amendment Regulations).
Section 2 – Commencement
Subsection 2(1) sets out in a table the commencement information for the Amendment Regulations. Table item 1 provides for the whole of this instrument to commence on 1 July 2026.
Subsection 2(2) clarifies that any information in column 3 of the table is not part of the instrument. Information may therefore be inserted or edited in column 3 in any published version of the instrument without affecting its substance/legal effect.
Section 3 – Authority
This section sets out the authority under which the Amendment Regulations are to be made, which is the Customs Act 1901.
Section 4 – Schedules
This section is the enabling provision for the Schedule to the Amendment Regulations, and provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to the Amendment Regulations is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and that any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.
The instrument being amended is the Customs Regulation 2015 (the Regulation).
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Customs Regulation 2015
Item 1 – Section 4 (at the end of the definition of international airport)
This item amends section 4 of the Regulation to insert a new paragraph (l) into the definition of “international airport” to include a reference to “Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport”.
Section 12 of the Regulation contains a table (in subsection (1)) which specifies when officers are to be available to perform the functions listed in the table. Table items 2 and 3 specify functions that are to be performed at an international airport, which are boarding or clearing aircraft, and attendance for the examination of aircraft passengers’ baggage, respectively. “Officer” in this context means “officer of Customs” as defined in section 4 of the Customs Act 1901.
The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that officers of Customs are available to perform the functions specified in section 12 of the Regulation at Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport.
ATTACHMENT B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Customs Amendment (International Airport Definition) Regulations 2026
This Disallowable Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Disallowable Legislative Instrument
The Customs Amendment (International Airport Definition) Regulations 2026 (Amendment Regulations) amends section 4 of the Customs Regulation 2015 (the Customs Regulation) to include Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI Airport) under the definition of “international airport”. WSI Airport is expected to become Australia's fourth busiest airport when running at full capacity. Operating 24 hours a day, WSI Airport will provide essential additional capacity to meet forecast growth in Australia's international travel and trade.
Subsection 28(1) of the Customs Act 1901 (Customs Act) provides that the Customs Regulation may prescribe the days on which, and hours on those days between which, officers (including Australian Border Force (ABF) officers who are employees in the Department of Home Affairs) are to be available to perform specified functions.
For the purposes of subsection 28(1) Customs Act, section 12 of the Customs Regulation lists, in a table, the specified functions to be performed by officers and prescribes the days and hours during which those functions are to be performed. Table items 2 and 3 specify certain functions that are to be performed at international airports, which include boarding or clearing aircraft, and the examination of aircraft passengers' baggage. These functions can only be performed at an international airport on the days, and during the hours, prescribed if the international airport is defined as such in section 4 of the Customs Regulation. Work performed outside these specified locations and times attract location and overtime fees which are recoverable by the ABF.
Including WSI Airport in the definition of “international airport” will therefore impose a requirement regarding the days and hours during which the airport must be serviced and the functions to be carried out by officers as per table items 2 and 3 of section 12 of the Customs Regulation. As WSI Airport will operate 24 hours a day, it is critical this capability is supported in the legislation.
This is consistent with the approach taken in respect of other major Australian international airports such as Sydney International Airport, Melbourne International Airport and Brisbane International Airport, as well as Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore) Airport and Townsville Airport.
Cargo operations are set to commence at WSI Airport in July 2026 ahead of passenger flights commencing in September 2026.
Human rights implications
This Disallowable Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Disallowable Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
The Hon Julian Hill MP
Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs